What Might Have Been, and What Could Be
by aislara
Summary: Based on Ripple Effect. A look into what might have been.
1. Chapter 1

Puzzling out the problems of the multiverse was bound to give anyone a pounding headache Sam thought to herself as she headed for the infirmary, even if you had a baker's dozen of alternate yous working on the problem. At the latest count there were sixteen alternate SG-1's that had come through the gate, and most of their Samantha Carter's were occupying the science lab two levels down. Upon entering the infirmary she asked a passing nurse if they had any ibuprofen for her headache. The nurse wandered off to go retrieve some tablets and Sam let herself rest for a moment on an unoccupied bed.

"You always did push yourself too hard, Sam," a familiar voice admonished her. "I bet you haven't eaten all day either."

Sam turned her head to see Daniel, or at least one of the Daniels currently on base, standing behind her. His right arm was wrapped up in a sling, the white obvious against the dark blue of his BDU's. An Airman stood a few feet behind him, trying to be as unobtrusive as possible without actually loosing sight of his charge. He was looking at her with a mixture of bemusement and affectionate indulgence.

"I guess that's a constant in any universe," she shrugged, not sure how to interpret his look. "What happened to your arm?"

"We came under fire as we were headed back to the Gate. Seems that Anubis had some automated systems left in place at the lab. Dr. Lam says it'll be fine." He glanced at the bed Sam was sitting on, "I guess your Daniel doesn't have a reserved bed in the infirmary. That one is usually mine."

A nurse walked over and handed Sam some tablets. She slid off the bed onto the floor.

"No, our Daniel's is over there, right next to Siler's" she pointed across the room to a far wall. "He's less distracting to the nursing staff over there."

"Oh?" he asked in surprise.

"They flirt horribly." Daniel looked mildly embarrassed. "Doesn't that happen in your reality?"

"Uh, no actually," Daniel held up his left hand to show her a plain gold band. It was mellowed with age and marked with a number of dings and scratches. Obviously not a recent addition to his wardrobe.

"Oh, I see," she said, not really seeing at all. "You're married." Stating the obvious. Good conversation starter, Sam.

"Widowed actually," a dark sadness flashed across his features. Daniel's deep blue eyes studied her for a long moment as if memorizing every feature.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. Daniel half laughed, half grimaced. Sam frowned at his response.

"Sorry. It just sounds odd coming from you."

"Why's that?" Sam asked in confusion.

Daniel just smiled a sad smile, "You were a brilliant scientist, Sam, but you always had a hard time listening to what your heart told you." He turned to go. "Good-bye, Sam," he touched her shoulder as he walked past her. Sam stood there for a moment and watched him go. She had encountered any number of alternate SG-1 members at this point, but a depressed Daniel was something out of the ordinary. The way he looked at her with such sadness and spoke about her in the past tense. Then realization hit her. She quickly swallowed the pills the nurse had handed her and took off down the corridor.

"Daniel!" she shouted. Fortunately he was the only Daniel in the corridor. He stopped but didn't turn around. Sam rushed up and stopped in front of him.

"In your reality we were married." she stated.

He nodded his head once. "Eight years," he said with a sigh.

"Eight years? But Sha're. . ." He picked his head up at the sound of her name.

"Sha're? She was killed in the crossfire on Abydos when Apophis came." Daniel paused, "I'm guessing things happened a little differently in this reality."

"Sha're was taken host to Amonet."

"I guess we never adopted Cassie then."

"We adopted Cassie?"

"That's why I married you the first time."

"The first time?"

"You wanted to adopt Cassie, but they were reluctant because you were a single parent that had a high risk profession. At the time I was a consultant on base. The first time I married you out of friendship."

"Friendship?"

"Our first marriage was on paper, to appease the powers that be so we could adopt Cassie. After a year it was obvious that we wanted more than formalities. So I asked you to marry me, again." "But we were already married."

Daniel smiled, "That's exactly what my Sam said. I had been married twice, but neither time had I been properly married. I just wanted to do things right."

"Let me guess, I carried Gerber Daisies and wore my mother's wedding dress."

Daniel looked at her with a far a way look in his eye, a soft smile spreading across his face as he reminisced. "You were beautiful. Jack thought I was going to faint when I saw you." Sam shifted uncomfortably at the intensity of his gaze upon her.

"Daniel," a distinctly British inflected voice called uncertainly, "You alright?" Sam glanced beyond Daniel to see a familiar curly haired blond behind him.

"Yeah, I'm fine, Sarah," Daniel said snapping out of his reverie. "Just saying my farewells, so to speak." Sara Gardiner looked at Daniel with concern. She glanced uncertainly at Sam, surprise evident on her face.

"It's good to see you again, Sam," she said slowly before turning back to Daniel. "You left this in the infirmity. Dr. Lam thought that you would want it." Sara slipped him a small piece of paper, glancing back and forth between the two. "I'll go find our Mitchell," she announced as she went to continue down the hallway. She touched Sam's shoulder briefly, "Take care of yourself."

Daniel glanced down at the piece of paper in his hand and smiled fondly. Curiosity getting the best of her she finally asked, "What is it?" Daniel said nothing, and just handed the piece of the paper face down to her.

"Good bye, Sam," he said finally and bent over to kiss her on the cheek. Then he was gone. For a long moment she stared after him. For his part he never once looked back. She turned her steps towards the elevator to head back down to her lab. Once in the elevator she turned the paper over so that she could see the front.

It was a photo. A family picture to be exact taken in Disney Land in front of Sleeping Beauty's Castle. Herself, or her alternate self, was standing in the center a pair of mouse ears perched on her head. Next to her was Cassie, her long red-blond hair tied up in a ponytail. She was proudly wearing her own set of mouse ears and a UCLA t-shirt. She was holding the hand of a little boy who looked to be about six years old. He had shaggy blond hair and Sam's smile. Daniel was on her other side, holding a little girl who appeared to be no more than three. Her bright blue eyes were unmistakably Daniel's. It was easy to loose yourself in worlds of what ifs and might have beens. First there was Martouf and Janet, and now. . .

"Colonel Carter!" She jumped a bit.

"Yes, Dr. Lee," she shoved the picture hurriedly into a pocket and she headed back into the lab.

"We think we might be on to something."

Several days later they had sent the last of the alternate SG-1 teams through the gate, hopefully to return to their own realities. It had taken her several hours to write her report on this one. Alternate realities were confusing at the best of times. Taking the papers off of her printer she headed out the door to deliver the report to the General before heading home for the night. Daniel was already in the elevator when she caught it.

"Oh, hey, Sam," Daniel said absently as he flipped through the pages of his own report.

"Heading to Landry's office?" Sam asked as she stepped inside.

"Yeah, then I was going to go get something to eat. Care to join me?"

"Sure. I haven't had a decent meal in days."

"You always push yourself too hard, Sam." Daniel said, looking up from his file smiling fondly at her. Sam glanced at him in surprise. The alternate Daniel in the infirmary had said much the same thing.

"Daniel, do you ever think about all the what ifs."

"How can we live through what happened and not?" Daniel closed the folder. "Something specific on your mind?"

"How about we get take out instead and we can discuss it at my place." She glanced sideways at him. What she had to talk about wasn't best discussed in public.

"Deal. I'll pick up something on my way over. Anything specific you want?"

"Bring a bottle of wine." Sam responded, a playful smile flitting across her lips. Daniel raised an eyebrow in the slightest show of surprise. "There's something I want to show you."


	2. Chapter 2

Author's note: I had intended for the first one to be a one-shot, a glimpse into the other might have beens. However, with a such a positive response and all your kind words, I have continued it. Thank you, again.

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"Sam?" Daniel called, as he opened her front door with the spare key. Sam's car was in the driveway and all the lights were on, but she hadn't answered the doorbell. "You home?" Propping the door open with his foot he picked up the assortment of the bags on the door step.

"Daniel?" came the muffled answering reply. "Sorry, I just got out of the shower."

"Don't worry, I let myself in," he shut the door behind him and shrugged out of his coat and hung it on the rack behind the door. Daniel headed into the kitchen and started unloading the bags onto the table. Quickly he sorted out the covered tin foil containers, putting the two that contained dessert into the fridge, and emptying the other ones that contained the salad and entrees onto actual plates. He set about putting everything onto the table before rummaging to find a corkscrew.

"Wow, actual china?" Sam said with mock surprise as she walked into the kitchen. She had changed into a pair of jeans and a v-necked t-shirt. Her hair was still damp from the shower.

"I figured since you asked for wine we'd air the china out. When's the last time you used it?"

Sam looked thoughtful, "Um, Thanksgiving?" she walked over to a drawer and pulled the corkscrew.

"That's what I thought. I'm not sure I've even gotten around to buying dishes again." Daniel eased the cork out of the wine bottle.

"Daniel, " Sam laughed. "It's been over two years." He looked at her with a completely innocent expression.

"Most everything I eat at home comes with its own box, bowl, container, et cetera." He handed the opened bottle of wine to Sam and dug two glasses out of the cabinet. Looking at the layer of dust he decided to rinse them off at the sink.

Sam took the bottle to the small table and smiled when she saw 'real food' instead of pizza or quickie take out. "I got you the chicken teriyaki rice bowl," Daniel said joining her at the table. "I wasn't about to figure out what wine went with Meat Lover's supreme pizza so I went to Applebee's."

"It looks great. Though after the food on base and the Prometheus, anything is an improvement." Sam poured out the wine and handed Daniel his glass.

"It was an interesting few days," Daniel said staring philosophically at the glass of wine. "A multitudes of could have beens, what ifs, and shadows of our pasts."

"Martouf,"

"Janet,"

"Here's to infinite possibilities," Daniel said and raised his glass. Sam reached out with her own and touched them together in toast.

"To possibilities," Sam studied Daniel over the rim of her glass. He had a thoughtful look in his eye and was regarding her with a curious expression over the rim of his own glass.

"Who was the most surprising person you met?" Sam asked as she started in on her salad.

"I'm not sure that's a fair question in this circumstance," Daniel answered. "When I saw Janet I was shocked. Speechless even. I saw her die and there she was. Nothing can prepare you for that. Yet she had traveled before with us on SG-1. So her being there, in that respect, wasn't surprising. It was the fact that she was gone in our reality that was. Martouf on the other hand, was a surprise on both fronts. He also died in our reality but he was never part of our project." Daniel drained another mouthful from his glass.

"Sarah Gardiner surprised me," Sam said thoughtfully. "In our reality she wanted nothing to do with the SGC after she was parted from Osiris."

"She was never taken as a host in her reality. Steven Raynor was. Apparently she was brought into the project after our little trip to Egypt. After what she had seen, they didn't have too much of a choice. Sarah joined my, or my alternate self's, archaeological team and later a field unit."

"So you talked to her too, then."

Daniel nodded silently as he chewed. "She stopped by my office to 'make sure I was okay.' We got to talking. Seems her and Mitchell are an item." He took another bite of dinner and chewed thoughtfully. "Sarah asked me where the pictures of my kids were. Thought that was kind of odd."

"Is is hard to believe that in parallel realities we would have a family?" Sam glanced over at Daniel, watching his response, yet not quite meeting his eyes.

Daniel refilled his wine glass and then Sam's before leaning back in his chair. "No," he said slowly. "I always assumed that one day I'd have a family of my own," he shrugged. "Just hasn't happened in this reality."

"Me too. For a while with Pete. . ." she sighed. "I think I was in love with the idea of having a family, not with him. I would have had to give up too much." She frowned a little as she remembered Pete's expectations. Both of them had been caught up in their own dreams for the future, they never stopped to check and see if they were compatible. Pete had just assumed she was going to transfer to a desk job so she'd be home by five every night to make dinner. Among other things. "In Janet's reality, I'm on maternity leave," she said thoughtfully staring into her wine. Sam missed the faint blush stealing across Daniel's cheeks. "I hope I didn't marry Pete. " She paused again and sighed. "This is going to bother me. I really hope it wasn't Pete."

"It wasn't Pete," Daniel said quietly as he paid more attention than necessary to cutting his steak.

Sam stared at him for a moment. His face was bent so far over his plate she could only see his hair and the rims of his glasses. "Daniel? . . ." she asked slowly.

"Yes?" he didn't raise his head, still sawing away at the meat.

"You know." It was a statement of fact, not a question. Daniel glanced up at her his eyes bright with embarrassment. A distinctive red tint colored his face that was not the result of the wine he had imbibed.

"It came up in conversation with their Mitchell." Daniel poured himself a third glass of wine, "So," he said hurriedly, "you said that you wanted to show me something."

"Daniel. . .tell." Sam stared at him until he relented under the scrutiny.

"Let's just say its a safe bet that the baby has blue eyes and most likely blonde hair." He smiled awkwardly at her.

"I have blue eyes and blond hair, so that just means that the father has blue eyes and . . ." she trailed off as comprehension dawned. Sitting across the table from her was a man with blue eyes and hair that still managed to get blond highlights in the sun. If that wasn't enough to give it away there was the deep red flush that had settled across his face and the uncertain expression. Abruptly she stood up from the table and went into the living room.

"Sam?" Daniel called after her, worry evident in the tone of his voice. He jumped up from the table and followed after her. She was sitting on the couch flipping through a book. Sam smiled up at her friend and motioned for him to join her. Warily he sat down next to her, uncertain as to what to expect.

"I take it the baby would look something like one of these two children," she said handing him the picture that the alternate Daniel had handed her. He stared at it for a long moment, not saying anything, his expression unreadable.

"Where did you get this?" Daniel finally asked, still staring at the photo.

"Sarah's Daniel. Well her reality's Daniel. Apparently Sha're in their universe died when Apophis first came through the gate."

Daniel finally looked away from the picture and straight at Sam. "And I asked you to marry me so we could adopt Cassie."

"Why did you say that? Cassie could just be on that vacation with them, or maybe Janet died there, too."

"Because I thought about it briefly." He leaned back into her couch and removed his glasses rubbing at the bridge of his nose. "At that point they hadn't formally recognized my marriage to Sha're. It was a . . .possibility. We make hundreds of choices. . ." Carefully he rested the photo on his leg.

"Have you ever thought about it?" Sam asked staring down at the 'could have been' family photo. "What it would be like to have a family."

"To have a family, or our family?" Daniel asked studying her face.

"Our family, admit it our kids would be rather cute."

"Do I have to tell the truth?" Daniel grinned at her.

"Yes," she said, a smile spreading across her face. That question alone was an answer in and of itself.

"Yes," he said decisively and without hesitation. "You?" he tilted his head to one side in curiosity.

"Yes," Sam answered. She ducked her head down and blushed, "Usually late at night."

Daniel's grin widened at her response. Gently he lifted her chin so he was looking her straight in the eyes. "I think we find ourselves at one of those divergence points. 'A', I can say nothing, like I have been doing for the past seven years. I go home, we preserve the status quo." Daniel studied Sam's face for a long moment before continuing. "Or B, I can tell you that I'm tired of hiding my feelings for you, that I've loved you these past seven years and just been too stupid to do anything about it."

Sam scooted closer to Daniel on the couch so that their knees were touching. "I vote for B." She slipped her arm around his waist and tucked her head against his shoulder. Casually she draped her other arm across his stomach. Surprised at first by the intimate contact he made no move of his own, simply surprised that the arrangement could feel so natural. After the initial shock wore off he wrapped his own arm around her waist and ran his fingers through her hair with the other. For a few moments they sat there utterly comfortable in each others arms, no words necessary. Finally Daniel broke the silence. "Meeting you was fate," he said philosophically, playing absently with a blonde lock of hair, "becoming your friend was a choice." Gently he rested his chin against the top of her head and tightened both his arms around her. "But falling in love with you I had no control over." Sam leaned back in his arms so she could look up into his face. His deep blue eyes were bright, even in the dimness of the living room. Lovingly she reached up and stroked his cheek before curling her hand around the nape of his neck.

"I know exactly how you feel."

"You do?" his eyes widened in surprise.

"As foolish as it sounds, I think I've loved you from the start. I just didn't know I was 'in' love with you. There was no great epiphany, no fireworks, just one day I knew." Slowly she rubbed her fingers against the base of his neck. "There just never seemed to be the right time."

"I don't think there ever is the right time."

"Now is the right time to kiss me," Sam said playfully half-lowering her eyelids and pulling his head down to her.

With an invitation that bold it was impossible to say no. Teasingly he captured her lips with his own, savoring every moment of their first kiss. There was no urgency, no demands, just a simple need to express that which words cannot. Time became irrelevant as did any perception of the world around them. Too soon it ended and Sam found herself stretched out on the couch, Daniel half laying on her, half propped up on his arm. He was smiling down at her his eyes full of love. One hand lazily stroked her cheek before running across her swollen lips.

"Marry me, Sam." It was a statement more than a question.

"After one kiss?" she asked in bewilderment.

"You said yourself there is no right time for these things. We've already seen what the future could hold for us. . ." Sam looked up into his earnest expression, and realized that he was deadly serious. For the second time tonight she found herself at a cross-roads.

As proposals went, it wasn't the stuff dreams were based on, but it was from the heart. Jonas had done the expensive dinner, flowers, and the sunset proposal on Valentine's Day. Caught up in the moment she had shouted yes so loud people had stopped and stared. That had lasted six months. Pete had tried. A carnival might not be the most romantic of venues, but he had put thought into it. The ring had been nice, though she had rarely worn it. Still it had taken her over two weeks to accept. That had lasted five months. Then there was Daniel, rumpled from their shared kiss patiently waiting for her answer. It was spur of the moment, which made it all the more endearing.

"You're serious," she said slowly.

"I would never joke about this, Sam."

Sam reached up took his face in both of her hands, softly she kissed him before whispering, "I'd be honored." Daniel leaned down and kissed her thoroughly with all the fervor one would expect from a newly engaged man. When their lips parted he took her left hand and softly kissed the base of her ring finger.

"I didn't have the foresight to bring a ring with me, so that will have to do for now."

"We have to talk to the General," Sam said absently as she nibbled at Daniel's neck.

"We will, tomorrow. After I swing by the bank. "

"Planning to bribe him?"

"No," he dropped a kiss on her cheek with a laugh. "To pick up your ring."

"My ring?" she echoed absently. Whatever Daniel was doing with his hands was making it terribly hard to concentrate on the conversation.

"The one you were wearing in the picture. It's in my safe deposit box. It was my mother's."

"Oh," she said systematically undoing the buttons on Daniel's shirt.

"Sam, we have a 9 o'clock debrief tomorrow," the way he nuzzled against her neck indicated that this was a token protest at best.

"I only need about three hours of sleep," she rolled the two of them over so she was sitting on top of him.

"On second thought, sleep is highly overrated."

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The next morning if it appeared that half of SG-1 had not slept at all the previous night, people would have simply assumed they had spent the night working on some project or another. That wouldn't have accounted for the glow that seemed to surround them, or the fact that Daniel had returned to base in the same clothes he had left in. As they settled in for the briefing, if they seemed to be more in each others personal space than usual, no one noticed. Except the Jaffa who had been their team mate for these past nine years. Teal'c took one look at the new couple and swung an arm around each of their shoulders and proceeded to launch into a long and involved speech in the Jaffa dialect. His words, which were the most anyone could ever remember him saying at one time were fortunately not understood by four fifths of the occupants of the room. At least if the deep shade of red that Daniel turned by the end of the speech was any indication. Sam looked on in bemused confusion at his words catching only one in ten.

"Care to explain?" Landry asked shuffling the file folders on the conference table. Mitchell looked on with bald faced curiosity.

"I was offering them a blessing, as is tradition, on Chulak." Teal'c bowed his head slightly before seating himself at the table, his face impassive. Daniel and Sam quickly slid into their chairs as well, Sam opening the file folder on the table quickly to cover the distinctive glint of metal and gem fire on her left hand. Landry, already suspicious enough due to Teal'c unprecedented actions, caught the attempt at subterfuge. He rose from the table.

"Colonel, Doctor, could I see you in my office for a moment?"


	3. Chapter 3

General Landry sat down heavily at his desk. Standing at parade rest in front of his desk was Colonel Carter, who was avidly examining the cabinet behind him. Doctor Jackson had his 'whatever you're upset about we can talk through this' expression on his face underscored only by the faintest sense of uncertainty.

"Did I send one of the alternate SG-1 teams back home with the wrong Dr. Jackson and Colonel Carter, or is there something you've been meaning to tell me?" Sam and Daniel shared a look between them before Sam started to explain.

"We're not an alternate version of ourselves, sir." Sam stated calmly, though she felt far from calm.

"So how long have you been keeping 'this' from me," he gestured in their general direction.

"With all due respect, General, we haven't been keeping anything from you." Daniel said in his best diplomatic voice. "This is new for us, too. Unfortunately we weren't able to speak with you before the debrief this morning."

"We had every intention of speaking to you directly after, sir," Sam added.

"You dropped your reports off around 19:00 last night, you couldn't have told me then," Landry asked, a hint of annoyance creeping into his tone.

"There wasn't anything to tell you last night," Daniel replied. He glanced sideways over at Sam and smiled, "We hadn't figured it out yet." Despite the tension in the room, Sam found herself smiling back. The two shared a long and meaningful look that wasn't lost on the general.

The general looked from one figure to the other in front of him before shaking his head as if trying to clear it. Since taking command of the SGC a few months ago, he'd heard a lot of strange things in this office. He'd read even stranger things in the mission briefs. This was almost mundane comparatively. It didn't take a genius to figure out the couple standing in front of him was in love. What bothered him is that this may have been something that had been going on for a while. He didn't like being out of the loop on matters, especially when it could affect the functionality of his premiere team.

"So what you're trying to tell me is between 19:00 last night and 09:00 this morning, you went from being colleagues to fiancées?"

"Yes, sir. Though we were never simply colleagues, sir." Landry raised an eyebrow at that addition.

"What Sam's trying to say, General, is that the two of us have been very good friends since the beginning of this program. We were so comfortable in our friendship that a lot of people on this base took it for something more than friends. They were wrong until last night. I've asked Sam to marry me and she agreed."

"That would explain the ring. So you're telling me that you two weren't involved on a romantic level until last night."

"That's right. Honestly do you think I would have been so insistent on being reassigned to Atlantis if Sam and I were involved?" Sam looked at Daniel with surprise at the last part, turning away from General Landry to look at Daniel directly.

"But you've been dying to go to Atlantis since you first discovered the gate address."

"That's before I had a reason to stay." Daniel reached over and took Sam's hand squeezing it tightly. "Before you gave me a reason to stay." The look the two shared raised the temperature in the room by several degrees.

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"Now Doctor Jackson is holding Colonel's Carter hand and they're making sheep's eyes at each other, sir," Walter Harriman broadcast to the remaining occupants of the briefing room. He was standing just off to the side of the window of the General's office so that he could see in, but the General couldn't see him.

"Thank you, Walter. How is it that you knew precisely where to stand?" Mitchell asked thoughtfully as he leaned back in his chair.

"It's all part of the job," he smiled enigmatically.

"Are you sure we should be, you know, spying like this?" Dr. Lee asked with some concern.

"Aren't the rest of you dying with curiosity to know what's going on." Cameron gestured expansively with both his hands.

"Indeed I am not." Teal'c stated from the opposite side of the table where he sat with a smug grin upon his face.

"I'm sure they will tell us, whatever it is, what we need to know," Dr. Lam observed as she tapped her pen absently on the file folders. "We should let them have their privacy."

"What's the base pool currently at, Teal'c?" Mitchell asked.

"Oh," Walter interrupted, "Now the General's saying something and they don't look to happy about it."

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"Is it possible that the two of you came under the influence of some alien agent or contagion?"

Both Sam and Daniel turned to face the previously forgotten third occupant of the room. "You think this is some sort of alien virus?" Daniel finally sputtered indignantly.

"Stranger things have happened on this base, Doctor." Daniel opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it and closed it again. "It's just a precaution. If this is truly what the two of you want, then I'm happy for you both. I just want to rule out any outside influences on such a momentous decision." Landry rose from his desk, and opened the door to the conference room. Mitchell, Teal'c, Dr. Lee, and Dr. Lam were all seated innocently at the table. Walter was nonchalantly pouring a cup of coffee. "Carolyn, could you join us for a moment."

"Well, this will make a good story to tell the kids," Daniel said as he sat on the edge of the nearest bed in the infirmary.

"Yes, 'When your father and I got engaged, we were ordered to go get our heads examined." A few heads in the infirmary turned curiously in their direction at the sound of the word 'engaged'. Sam sat down next to her husband to be.

"Actually he just ordered a serious of blood test to make sure that you are not under the influence of any alien infections or narcotics," Dr. Lam corrected as she headed over to them with a syringe. "Who's first?" Daniel pulled off his BDU jacket and held out his arm to Dr. Lam.

"Me. Then could I borrow your phone?"

"Sure, who do you need to call if you don't mind my asking."

"Jack. I'm sure General Landry will be giving him an earful, and I'd rather that he heard it from me." Sam nodded her agreement. Dr. Lam quickly finished up with Daniel and told him to use the phone in her office.

"So you two are getting hitched, eh?" Mitchell said as he sat with a crash on the bed opposite from Sam. Teal'c lowered himself to the bed in a much more dignified fashion.

"Yes, once we're cleared of temporary insanity charges."

"Congratulations, then, Sam," Mitchell said with a broad smile. "Let's go out tonight to dinner to celebrate. Teal'c and I'll treat." Teal'c raised one eyebrow at the later half of the statement. "Teal'c's about to make a killing in the base pool."

"Alright," Sam smiled.

"Carolyn, why don't you join us?" Mitchell asked.

"Why not. If I'm not intruding on the celebration, that is."

"It's good to know that some people think it's an occasion worth celebrating." Sam said, the smile returning to her face.

"Indeed it is an occasion worthy of celebration, ColonelCarter. I am most pleased that you have come to this realization and decided to form a pledge bond with DanielJackson." The satisfied smile on Teal'c face left no doubt as to the Jaffa's true feelings.

Dr. Lam withdrew the last vial of blood from Sam's arm. Gently she folded Sam's arm upwards to stop any bleeding from the site of the puncture. Sam wiggled her fingers a bit, which caused the overhead lights of the infirmary to catch the sapphire and diamond setting of her ring.

"That's a beautiful ring," Carolyn said. "The setting is quite unusual."

"Women, they aways notice the ring," Cameron said in a stage whisper to Teal'c.

"It's an antique. Daniel said it's been in his family for six generations."

"So you two didn't manage to find the 24 hour jewelry store then," Mitchell joked. Sam just made a face at him that amply expressed her thoughts on the matter. Carolyn gave her a knowing look in return.

"Men always feel threatened when one of them demonstrates his ability to commit," she stared pointedly at Mitchell. "I'll call you with the results as soon as they're done."

"Is that what your little display earlier was about," Mitchell turned to Teal'c, ignoring Carolyn's glare. "Fear of commitment?"

"No, it was not. It is customary on Chulak for the father of one of the parties in a pledge bond to ask for the blessing of the union among the elders of the group. As neither ColonelCarter or DanielJackson have a parent living, I felt it necessary to fulfill that role."

"What embarrassed Jackson so badly? He was five different shades of red."

"The traditional prayers for a fruitful union are quite descriptive. I find that the Taur'i are of a prudish nature in these matters. I would be happy to provide a translation for you if you would find it instructive." Mitchell stared at Teal'c for a long moment, trying to determine if he was pulling his leg. Teal'c's face remained inscrutable.

"I'm just going to go find Daniel," Sam said shaking her head and turning towards Dr. Lam's office. "Why don't you figure out where we're going to dinner."


	4. Chapter 4

"Good Morning, Miranda," Jack O'Neill said jauntily as he strolled into his office. "I brought you something new this morning." He handed her a steaming cup of coffee and a bagel.

"Good morning," his secretary replied taking a deep whiff of the aromatic coffee. "You know how to pick the good stuff, sir."

"Yes, well, it all tastes the same to me but I have a good friend who swore by the stuff." The general shrugged out of his overcoat and headed into his private office. Miranda followed behind a stack of papers in her arms.

"I've stacked all the pertinent file folders for today's meeting agenda on the right hand side of your desk. The left hand side holds the papers requiring your attention and signature." Handing over the stack of papers she continued, "Personnel decisions need to be made for the Odyssey. I've included several candidates for key staff positions here for you based on the minutes from the last briefing. General Landry has called twice, and says its important that he speaks to you." She handed over the final two memo slips. "Anything else, sir?"

Jack surveyed his desk with a sigh, he shuffled enough paper since coming to Washington to fill a mother ship. "No, that's all for now, Miranda. Thank you. It seems a general's job is never done."

As if on cue his phone began to ring. The general sank into his chair with a look that seemed to say, 'See what I mean.'.

"O'Neill," he answered as Miranda returned to the outer office.

"Hey, Jack. You gotta minute?"

"Oh, I'm fine, Daniel. Thank you for asking. Yes, the cherry blossoms should be lovely this year. Why don't we take a picnic?"

"Sounds great, Jack. But I think we have a few months until the Sakura festival."

"How's everyone?"

"They're fine, Jack. Peachy even." Daniel said an edge of impatience entering into his voice. "Has General Landry talked to you yet?"

"Landry? He's left me two messages already but I haven't talked to him this morning." Jack paused, "What did you do this time?"

"I'm getting married, Jack."

"You! That's great! Congratulations." Jack was genuinely surprised but pleased. In his opinion Daniel had been alone for too long. The man deserved some happiness in life. And maybe, just maybe, with a wife to come home to he'd be less likely to tempt fate with his repeated deaths. Jack couldn't handle too many more gray hairs. "Anybody I know? I didn't realize you were seeing anyone. Or are we going alien princess again."

"Very funny, Jack. Actually it was all rather sudden." At that moment the intercom buzzed on his desk.

"General Landry is on line two for you. He says its urgent."

"Thank you," Jack buzzed back before returning to the phone.

"Hey, Daniel. I'm going to have to call you back. Landry's on the phone and he says its urgent."

"Wait! He's calling because of Sam and me."

"Carter?" Jack responded in confusion. "What have the two of you gotten yourselves into?"

"I'm marrying Sam, Jack. I wanted you to hear it from me first." There was only silence from Jack's end of the phone. "Jack, you still there?"

"Yes, Daniel. I'm sorry. I thought I just heard you say that Carter was marrying you."

"That's right. Why does everyone except Teal'c think that's so strange?"

"Not strange. Just surprising." Jack leaned back in his chair and propped his feet up on the desk in a very un-general like fashion. It was surprising. But not fully unexpected. The two of them might be certified geniuses with more letters after their name than were in a can of alphabet soup, but when it came to affairs of the heart, neither of them were too bright. The most surprising part was that they figured it out. "I guess I always assumed if it was going to happen it would have happened long before now. There were a couple of times. . ." Jack's phone beeped at him again reminding him of the other general waiting for him. "I really need to pick up Landry, Daniel."

"Landry thinks we've been hiding this from him. I swear to you that we haven't."

"I know. Hey, I'll fly out this weekend. Take you both out to dinner to celebrate. You can fill me in on all the torrid details."

"Thanks, Jack."

"Hey, what are friends for."

Jack leaned over and pressed the button for the second line, "Heya, Hank. How's the SGC treating you?" He allowed Landry to vent unrestricted for a few moments about one half of SG-1 and his theories about their personal conduct.

"Alien virus, you say?" Jack said sympathetically. "Are they displaying any other symptoms?" Jack sighed and settled into his chair. Just another day at the office.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Later that afternoon Dr. Lam knocked on the door of General Landry's office. The general was mired down under a stack of reports and paperwork. After a moment he looked up and acknowledged her presence motioning for her to enter. "What have you got for me?"

"Tox reports all came back clean, except for a very low level of alcohol in their systems." Carolyn sat down in the chair facing the general and handed him the paperwork. "Both of them admitted they had wine with dinner so its really not out of the ordinary. The levels weren't high enough that either of them would have had their judgment impaired. Physically they both were exhibiting signs of fatigue, however they also admitted they hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before."

"How about alien influences?" He asked as he studied the reports.

"All of their blood work was normal. Well, normal for them anyway, and there was no trace of antibody activity."

The General leaned back into his chair and sighed. "So what do you make of all this?"

"Do you want my professional or personal opinion?"

"Let's start with professional."

"Colonel Carter and Dr. Jackson are two healthy, mature, individuals. They are capable of making rational decisions."

"And personally?"

"Personally, from what I've heard around this base, its about time."

"That's what General O'Neill said. Don't you think it's a little sudden though?"

"Dad," Carolyn said leaning forward in her seat and looking the general straight in the eye. "This isn't about you and Mom."

Landry looked up from the file and stared at his daughter for a long moment."Just what is that supposed to mean."

"It means that this isn't Vietnam, that they aren't trying to save the other. No hasty marriage to get the other out of the country."

"Is that what you think our marriage was, Carolyn?" The doctor sat there for a moment and shrugged.

"Wasn't it? You knew each other for five days before you got married."

"Your mother was something special, Carolyn. Things weren't always bad between us. For a long while we were happy."

"Then what happened."

"Reality set in. My work took me away from home more and more. The secrets between us were more than our marriage could take. Well, you know the rest."

"So you chose work over us."

"I didn't choose, Carolyn." The two sat in silence for a long moment neither certain what to say. Obviously a change in topic was in order.

"SG-1 is taking them out to dinner to celebrate tonight, provided you've cleared them to go off base."

"I'm guessing Mitchell is in favor of the relationship then."

"As he expressed it, 'He worked too hard to get the band back together to have it break up over a relationship'."

Landry nodded his head and rose from his chair. "I guess we better give them the good news."

"And an apology?" Dr. Lam suggested as she headed for the door.

"Well, I suppose I could by the first round of drinks."

Author's note: First of all, I'm making my own assumptions about Landry's marriage this is not from spoilers or Cannon. Lam is an extremely common Vietmanese as well as Chinese surname. I am assuming that she changed her last name to her mother's maiden name instead of it being from a prior marriage. Secondly, I'm sorry that it took so long to update. My life has been rather hectic. I'm not going to go into detail, but needless to say my computer time was severely curtailed. This chapter was short, but I felt it was better to get back into the groove again, then to wait to add more to the chapter before posting. Of course, feedback always inspires me to write more ;) Thanks for reading.


	5. Chapter 5

"I'm starving," Mitchell said as he strolled into Daniel's office. "What do you say to steaks at Outback?"

"Sounds great," Daniel responded absently without looking up from the book he was studying. "However, I haven't been cleared yet."

Mitchell glared at the clock, "It's almost 17:00 hours. How long do these tests take?"

"I guess they want to make sure they're thorough," he said a wry grimace crossing his face. "Neither of us have been ordered for a CAT scan or MRI yet, the night is young. Maybe you should send out for carside."

"That won't be necessary, Dr. Jackson," Landry announced from the doorway, a stack of files in his hand. "Carolyn assures me that you are both in your right mind. General O'Neill went so far as to suggest that this is the proof that you are indeed ' finally in your right mind'."

Daniel looked up from his work his eyes blinking at the change in focal distance, "Thank you, I think."

"Carolyn also tells me that an apology is in order, so the first round of drinks are on me." Cameron shot a look at Daniel as if to ask, 'did you invite him'. Daniel looked just as bewildered shrugging a bit in response.

"Thank you, General."

"It's the least I can do. I'll see you at 19:00 then. I had Walter call ahead for us." Landry turned and headed back out the door

"We'll see you there, then, sir" Daniel said graciously if somewhat confused.

"Okay, who invited him?" Cameron asked after peering out the doorway and determining that the general was no longer in earshot.

"I think he invited himself." Daniel said as he went about putting his books away. "I need to get going if I'm going to make myself presentable."

"Came to work wearing the same clothes as yesterday?" Cameron said knowingly.

"Yeah, something like that." Daniel said matter of factually. "It's great to know that my personal life is public knowledge." He turned the light off and headed for the corridor.

"You still haven't filled us in on the details."

Daniel just smiled and started down the corridor. "I'll see you at 7:00, Cameron. You'll let Teal'c know?"

"Yeah, I'll tell Teal'c, but no details? Not one?"

"What happened to that officer and a gentleman routine?" Daniel asked as he stepped into the elevator and punched the number for the lab level.

Mitchell paused and turned around heading back down the corridor, "I'll just go get Teal'c"

Sam was hunched over her desk puzzling over the latest discovery by SG-14. It appeared to have ancient origins, however the device seemed to be a hodgepodge of several different technologies. So far no one had been able to determine its use or function. Reaching for her tool kit, she again tried to lever off one of the panels.

"Where'd you get that?" a familiar voice asked. Daniel came up behind her and stared down at the grey-blue device.

"SG-14 brought it back from P5X-689."

"Hrm, the markings look familiar, but I can't quite place them at the moment." He leaned over to get a better look at the device. Instead of putting his hand on the desk next to her, like he would have in the past, he slipped his arms around her waist and leaned his head on top of hers. Sam smiled and giggled under her breath hesitating only a second before snuggling back into him. "I think I've seen something similar on a device that SG-4 discovered a few years back. I'll have to cross reference my notes tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?"

"Yeah, unless you want to miss dinner, and personally I'm starving."

"You mean we've been cleared?"

"Mmm, hmm," Daniel mumbled as he nuzzled the side of her neck, which he had discovered was surprisingly sensitive. She squirmed a bit in her chair, as he kissed her neck softly. "Um, Daniel?"

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"I need to put this away before I leave." She nodded towards the device on the table.

"Right," he said releasing her reluctantly from his arms. "7:00 at Outback. The General is buying the first round as an apology for his behavior earlier."

"Landry's coming?"

"Apparently. Do you want me to pick you up?"

"Sure. Taking one car makes more sense."

"I'll pick you up at quarter of?" Sam nodded in agreement. Although they had been a couple less than twenty four hours, it seemed the most natural thing to bend down again and kiss her good-bye.

"I could get used to that," Sam said as she shooed him out the door.

"I certainly hope so," Daniel said with a grin as he headed out.

By the time that Sam and Daniel arrived at Outback the rest of the group was seated at the bar. Teal'c noticed their arrival and nodded in his stoic way to acknowledge their presence. Cameron was far more effusive in his greeting and waved wildly at them, an empty beer bottle in his hand.

"Looks like you got started without us," Daniel said as they found seats at the bar with their party.

"Nah, Teal'c and I just got here a little early. The General and Carolyn just showed up," Carolyn smiled uncertainly at the rest of the group. It was the first time she had gone out socially with any of her coworkers at the mountain, and she wasn't quite sure why she was here. Landry motioned to the bartender to serve the new arrivals.

"So when's the big day?" Landry asked in the blunt fashion he had about him. Sam and Daniel glanced at each other and shrugged.

"We haven't gotten that far yet." Sam said answering for the two of them.

"You could just run off to Vegas and be done with it," Mitchell suggested as he popped the lid on his third beer.

"And miss my chance to show off that I've finally caught the most popular bachelor on base, you must be joking." Sam grinned and squeezed Daniel's hand.

"You should have heard the chatter in the infirmary after you all cleared out," Carolyn smiled as she remembered the scene. "The majority of the unattached females present were holding out for that 'temporary insanity' excuse. They were rather heartbroken after news of the results leaked out. Dr. Jackson has been a favored fantasy for many of them for quite some time." Daniel had the good graces to look embarrassed by Carolyn's commentary.

"Janet always said that her team was fonder of me than they should be, but I just assumed it was because I was there all the time."

Carolyn turned and looked at Sam, "He really doesn't have a clue about the effect he has?" Sam just smiled indulgently, that being answer enough. "I noticed it on the second day of my assignment."

"I guess it will be your turn now, Cameron." Daniel said playfully since the two women seemed determined to talk around him.

"Oh, he got his share of that when he was laid up after his crash." Carolyn grinned wickedly at him.

"Don't you start now, darlin'. I didn't have eyes for any but one," Cameron drawled with a devilish smile. The other four present looked on the exchange with interest, wondering if there was something that maybe the two of them were keeping to themselves.

The server chose that moment to approach them, and escort them to the table. Landry quickly settled the bar tab and followed them to the table. The menu became the new topic of interest. After the orders were taken and the mellowing effect of the alcohol had taken hold, the conversation inevitably turned back to matrimony.

"The standard conversational opener is to ask how you met," Cameron started, "but I've already read that mission report. So I guess the next question is why now?"

"In light of recent events," Daniel smiled across at Sam, "we found ourselves at a crossroads."

"And we chose 'Plan B'" Sam finished as she began rummaging in her purse. "Which was to stop avoiding the possibility that there could be more than friendship between us." Slowly she slid the photo that the alternate reality Daniel had handed to her to the center of the table.

Carolyn gently turned the picture so she could have a better look at it. She smiled at the picture of a happy family. "Its a rare gift to have such a clear picture of what your future could hold." A shadow crossed her face, "I wish someone had handed me a picture of my future when I was nineteen," she said more to herself than anyone else.

Mitchell touched her shoulder softly in a reassuring fashion, and a few of the shadows lifted from her face. "We all make hundreds of choices, and even a glimpse of the future is only a might have been, because by knowing the future, you've inevitably changed it."

"And you can make a hundred wrong decisions before finally making the right one," Sam countered glancing over at Daniel and making a mental list of all the 'wrong' decisions she had made that had brought her to this moment.

"Indeed," Teal'c interjected in his deep voice. "When Master Bra'tac first brought Drey'auc to me as my intended I swore that I would not have her. I made many excuses. Finally Drey'auc refused to have anything further to do with me, and swore she would marry another, regardless of the intentions of the elders." A slow grin spread across his face, "It was then that I found her to be irresistible."

"Not so for me. The proverbial bolt of lightning hit me. My buddies and I were on a pass, having a good time making some noise. We stopped for some noodles at a vendor. My friend Charlie is busy making a nuisance of himself flirting with the woman and giving one of them in particular a hard time. He doesn't speak any Vietnamese, she has no English, so it was impossible situation. Out of nowhere this girl comes riding up on her bike and runs my friend over, covering him in noodles. In very colorful English, she gives him a piece of her mind. Mai's eyes were flashing wildly, cheeks flushed, her hair tumbling down around her face. I was good and caught. Five days later I was standing before my unit chaplain with her."

"You must take after your mother," Cameron whispered in Carolyn's ear. "Flashing eyes, sharp tongue."

"So, tell me, why is there no Mrs. Mitchell in your life?"

"I guess I'm still waiting to be presented with my crossroads."

It was well after 10:30 by the time Daniel pulled up in front of Sam's house. Putting the car in park in let out a yawn worthy of a hippopotamus. Sam took one look at his tired expression and the obvious fatigue that was plaguing him and held out her hands. "Give me the keys, Daniel."

"What?" he asked sleepily as Sam reached over and turned the car off taking the keys.

"You're in no condition to be driving home."

"I'll be fine," he protested waving her concerns aside.

"Come on, off to bed with you." She unfastened his seatbelt and pointed at the car door indicating he should get out. Like a child she dragged him up to the house and into her bedroom. He had little inclination or energy to do anything other than follow along in her wake. When she went off to find her pajamas he sprawled across her bed to 'rest for a minute'. That's where Sam found him twenty minutes later after she had locked up and changed. His jacket and shoes were still on and his legs were dangling uncomfortably off the side of the bed. Sam just shook her head and pulled his shoes and jacket off, his limp body not cooperating in anyway. Finally she crawled into bed next to him and fell fast asleep. As they had the following day off she fully expected to sleep until noon the next day. It was with some annoyance that she awoke to Daniel's gentle prodding at 7:30 the following morning.

"Sam, is there any reason why there would be a strange man with a box of donuts on your doorstep this morning?"


	6. Chapter 6

"Mrm, wha, hrm?" Sam mumbled sleepily in response. It didn't take much of Daniel's considerable linguistic talent to determine that Sam had no idea what he was talking about. Daniel just smiled and rummaged around for his glasses. The doorbell rang again, this time the visitor leaned on it a bit more insistantly. Sam grumbled and pulled the pillow over her head.

"Never mind. Go back to sleep, I'll go tell them to go away."

"I'm coming, I'm coming," Daniel grumbled to himself as he stumbled sleepily down the stairs. The doorbell was buzzing almost continually at this point. Absently he ran one hand through his hair, which resulted in it sticking out every which way instead of smoothing it down like intended. He fiddled with the locks for a moment before opening the door. "Can I help you?" Daniel asked in a less than gracious manner, as he ran an assessing, if sleepy eye over the visitor.

The stranger was dressed in a black trenchcoat tied loosely over an expensive suit. He wore a bewildered expression on his face as he studied Daniel. The bright orange box of donuts balanced in one hand looked slightly out of place in the hands of the well groomed individual. Surreptitiously, he glanced over at the house number as if to confirm he was at the right address and then glanced over at the driveway to confirm the presence of a car. Finally deciding he was in the right place he smiled sheepishly at Daniel, "Apparently, Sam forgot I was coming."

"Apparently." Daniel repeated, still uncertain of the man's identity.

"I called her yesterday at the base when I got into town. I have a meeting downtown at 10:00 and I thought I could drop by for breakfast. She said she had a surprise for me," the stranger paused and took in Daniel's decidedly rumpled hair, wrinkled, half untucked clothes, and unshaven face, "I guess you're it."

"Well, that makes two of us that are surprised," Daniel said evenly.

Upstairs Sam lay lazily on the bed. The insistent ringing of the doorbell left her lying awake and unhappy about it. She could vaguely hear Daniel's voice, now that she had removed the pillow from her head. Faintly she could make out the sound of the second person's voice. 'Sounds familiar', she thought absently to herself. 'Not Jack, he's coming up this weekend, not deep enough to be Teal'c. Odd, sounds a lot like Dad. But he's. . .Oh, crap!" She launched herself out of bed and ran downstairs skidding to a halt in the foyer crashing into Daniel's back. Instinctively, Daniel grabbed onto the door frame with one hand, and grabbed Sam around her waist with the other. Tightening his grip around her, he pulled her up tight against him to keep her from tumbling head first out the front door and down the steps. She teetered unsteadily for a moment before wrapping her arms around Daniel for support.

"Hey, Sam," the stranger said, as he struggled to contain his laughter. "Never a dull moment around you, is there?"

"Well, you know how it is," she attempted to shrug casually from the exceedingly awkward position she found herself in. "Daniel, I'd like you to meet my brother Mark. Mark this is my fiance, Daniel."

"I'm not sure if I should offer my congratulations or my condolences," Mark said with a grin.

"I'm sorry?" Daniel said, blinking rapidly as if he wasn't quite sure if he'd heard his future brother-in-law right.

"From what I understand, most of the men she's dated lately have ended up dead."

Sam and Daniel exchanged a knowing grin as they disentangled themselves. "Oh, I wouldn't worry too much about that," Daniel said mysteriously. "I haven't gone through my nine lives yet." Sam opened the door far enough to let her brother into the house.

"Besides, Pete survived," Sam said with a smile as she led her brother into the living room. Daniel headed into the kitchen to start some coffee. "Maybe the curse is broken."

Mark settled himself into an armchair, and paused for a moment as if he was considering whether or not he should comment.

"What?" Sam asked as she flopped onto the couch and reached for a donut.

"I think you did the right thing by breaking it off with Pete." He picked a donut out of the box. "I know I was angry with you at the time. Pete and I had been great friends. But, now I think you might have had a close call."

"Close call?" Sam sat up, "What are you talking about?"

"Pete's gotten a little odd. He keeps talking about crazy things. You know he left the police force."

"I know he left Denver after we split."

"He's in Vegas now, started a private investigation company."

"Doesn't sound too strange."

"No," he hesitated. "I met up with him for drinks a couple of weeks ago when I was in Vegas for the new casino project. He's been taking up some strange cases. Alien abductions, UFO's, all sorts of science fiction kind of stuff. Kept insisting that there was a government conspiracy to keep us ignorant of the 'alien threat'."

"Oh?" said Sam, in an encouraging tone, "Alien threat?"

"Yeah, something about this race of snakes that jump in people's heads and bend them to their will. They make you immortal or something. He even said that Dad had one in his head, and that he didn't actually go into remission from that experimental drug."

"That sounds a little far fetched, don't you think?" Sam said with her best disinformation smile on her face. She glanced over at the kitchen. Daniel was lurking just inside the doorway, out of Mark's line of sight but where he could make easy eye contact with her. He had his cel phone out and raised an eyebrow at Sam. Almost imperceptibly she nodded her head and watched as Daniel turned his back to her and stepped off to the side. Landry would have to be informed of the security leak. When they had allowed her to disclose the Stargate Project to Pete, she had felt an immense sense of relief. If she was to have a future with anyone, she would have to be involved with someone who knew of her work. That's why she had allowed things to progress as far as she did. In some part of her brain, he was her only chance for normalcy. Obviously, she hadn't opened her mind to all the possibilities. In retrospect, though Pete was probably a bad choice to give full disclosure to. He discussed classified information way to openly, and in public places. It was some great game to him, despite him seeing up close the damage that even the most basic alien devices could do. Luckily, Pete seemed to have based himself near Nullis. It would make any action against him easier. A tiny chill ran down her spine and she wondered how long Pete had been in Vegas. There had been a few times when she had been working at Area 51 that she thought that she was being watched, but she always assumed it was just her active imagination.

"It gets even better." Mark settled in warming to the topic of the insane ramblings of his friend. But, there was an undertone to his voice that seemed to say he was also seeking reassurance, either confirmation or denial of the accusations.


End file.
